TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL

Festival programmed around a central theme combines classical music and new music, presenting world’s top interpretive artists

 

TORONTO (July 23, 2008) –  The 2008 Toronto Summer Music Festival presents its third annual festival from July 22 – August 17, catapulting itself into the summer with its eclectic mix of internationally renowned classical musicians.

This year’s theme, In the Fire of Conflict engages artists and audiences in an exploration of how composers have reflected social, political or religious struggles in their music over the ages.

Music and Dance featuring Grammy award performer, cellist Denise Djokic, dance phenomenon Peggy Baker and percussionist Ryan Scott pushes the barriers of convention in a sonic soundscape with the world premiere of In the Fire of Conflict, fusing classical music with elements of hip hop and play-back rapping. Pressler and Friends brings pianist Menahem Pressler to the forefront, honoured as one of the greatest chamber musicians of all time by the Concertgebouw, buttressed by string superstars violinist Alexander Kerr, violist Roberto Diaz and cellist Paul Watkins in a stellar piano quartet.  

The four-week festival concludes with four fully-staged performances of Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, conducted by Maestra Agnes Grossmann with stage direction by Titus Hollweg. The opera will be double cast with some of the world’s best young singers, accompanied by the National Academy Orchestra. A lecture by renowned Strauss expert, Bryan Gilliam, will give context to the story of Ariadne auf Naxos. “A Day at the Opera” introduces opera lovers to Ariadne with a performance by master storyteller Clayton Scott, followed by a hands-on clay workshop at the Gardiner Museum and concluding with the final opera performance of the TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL.

TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL STORY IDEAS:

  • Agnes Grossmann’s concept of programming an entire festival around a central theme is an innovative way to engage artists and audience in a spiritual and aesthetic conversation that creates an intense musical experience.
  • Artistic Director and Conductor, Agnes Grossmann, is one of the very few women on the international conducting circuit.  She has just completed an extensive conducting tour of Asia and Italy. She is also the only woman to have held the position of Artistic Director of the Vienna Boys’ Choir (during their 500th anniversary celebrations).  An interesting aside is that Stage Director Titus Hollweg sung in the choir.
  • Son of famous tenor, Werner Hollweg, Stage Director Titus Hollweg is well known in the European opera world, with his work in Vienna and Glyndebourne.  He has collaborated with Agnes Grossmann on a previous production of Ariadne auf Naxos.  Shared experiences and connections could be discussed, as well as how opera and stage direction differ in Europe to North America.
  • Dynamic cellist Denise Djokic’s collaboration in a world premiere and the new sensibility that a younger demographic is bringing to classical music, with the incorporation of elements from popular idioms like hip hop.
  • French press: Feature on “Ariadne auf Naxos” and how it was intended as a continuation of Moliere’s Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme translated from French into German by Hugo von Hoffmansthal.
  • Menahem Pressler is one of the most celebrated musicians of our time, honoured for his lifetime achievements by governments and cultural organizations around the world.  Roberto Díaz, President of the Curtis Institute, will be performing with him on August 9th.

 

TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL:
July 22 – August 17, 2008


Violin/Piano Recital:
Mayumi Seiler & Tünde Kurucz: Thursday, July 24, 2008 at 8pm *

In the Fire of Conflict:
Suzie LeBlanc and Daniel Taylor: Saturday, July 26, 2008 at 8:00pm ***

Music and Painting:
Molinari String Quartet: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at 8pm *

Revolution and Tyranny in Europe:
Leipzig String Quartet: Saturday, August 2, 2008 at 8pm ***

Music and Dance:
Denise Djokic: Tuesday, August 5, 2008 at 8pm *

Chamber Music Treasures:
Anton Kuerti: Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 8pm ***

Pressler and Friends: Saturday, August 9, 2008 at 8pm ***

Music and Masks: Gryphon Trio: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 8pm *

Ariadne auf Naxos:
Thursday, August 14, 2008 to Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 7:30pm;
Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 2:00pm ***

Festival passes ($175 - $250) and single tickets ($27 - $50) are available
online www.torontosummermusic.com or by calling 416.597.7840

* At Walter Hall,
*** At MacMillan Theatre (Edward Johnson Building, Faculty of Music, 80 Queen’s Park)

 

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